This week’s reading revolved around management of risk, risk prevention and crisis management.
Basically the message was that, where PR is concerned, prevention is most certainly better than cure.
In order to prevent any potential blunders the PR-Practitioner must have an extensive understanding of the political, cultural and social environment that they or their publics exist in and any risks, issues, or crisis’ that could be lurking in the poorly-lit alleyways of their company’s current position. A good PR-Practitioner swats these unwanted flies quicker than you can say ‘crisis aversion’.
Apologies for that pathetic attempt at a joke.
That being said, surely an element of risk in some instances can be a good thing. In fact, when dealing with cooky-by-nature clients perhaps their risk-taking behaviour not only benefits but is integral to their success. I’m sure every time Virgin’s PR rep sees Richard Branson jumping out of a plane for a promo she is mentally editing his pre-made obituary.
If the risk of Rich plummeting to his death while filming “Rebel Billionaire” was ‘managed’, aka. the whole idea was quashed, then ol’ Rich would soon become the Sensible Billionaire and no one would give a crap about his cheap airfares and his very essence (while physically alive) would be dead.
I guess Branson’s PR rep would be doing their job correctly though, considering she had done her homework and prepared his obituary. Perhaps she would also have to have the camera crew bound by contract so the world’s most famous CEO didn’t appear on an E. True Hollywood Story. By establishing the risks, pre-empting potential problems and implementing strategies to deal with it the organisation and planning facets of their role would be spot on.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Week 9: A Typical PR Plan
This week’s reading essentially highlighted the intricacies within and importance of controlling the planning and implementation process of a Public Relations Plan.
A key message from the article stressed the necessity for appropriate planning when constructing a PR plan. This appropriateness refers to the selection of the option most relevant to the specific goals of the campaign at all stages in the planning process. Most notably this refers to the chosen methods of research. Various avenues for gaining information are available to the practitioner, and it should be carefully queried which is the most suitable. For example, client surveys may be effective for a company with already engaged and receptive publics and could therefore rely on gaining results from a client survey. Conversely, if the company’s current position with their target audience is not a positive one, other methods of research must be introduced.
The reading also emphasised the importance of effective management in the implementation of a Public Relations plan. Effective leadership is crucial in guiding the company’s constituents to adopt the values and objectives of the campaign, and thus having a person guide and facilitate this process is imperative to its successful integration to the company at large.
A key message from the article stressed the necessity for appropriate planning when constructing a PR plan. This appropriateness refers to the selection of the option most relevant to the specific goals of the campaign at all stages in the planning process. Most notably this refers to the chosen methods of research. Various avenues for gaining information are available to the practitioner, and it should be carefully queried which is the most suitable. For example, client surveys may be effective for a company with already engaged and receptive publics and could therefore rely on gaining results from a client survey. Conversely, if the company’s current position with their target audience is not a positive one, other methods of research must be introduced.
The reading also emphasised the importance of effective management in the implementation of a Public Relations plan. Effective leadership is crucial in guiding the company’s constituents to adopt the values and objectives of the campaign, and thus having a person guide and facilitate this process is imperative to its successful integration to the company at large.
Week 8: Sponsorship and Event Management
This week’s reading focused on driving home just how essential research is when considering delving into the deep-ended realms of corporate sponsorship and event management.
I think this chapter’s chief purpose may well have been to alert the countless “Samantha Jones” wanna-bees from thinking that the event management area of PR is all there is to it. Even if it was, which we are learning one gruelling chapter at a time that it isn’t, this reading was about pointing out the truly un-fun nature of planning and strategising. What’s obvious is that you have to do a shitload of work before you get to sip on supposedly free cosmos and get your friends on the list to the elitist of parties.
The basic message was that very careful and strategic research must occur before blowing the budget and reputability of the company you’re representing. It should be recognised that event management is just one of the tactics on offer to a Public Relations Practitioner, and so considering its rivals are media releases and leaflets, comprehensive research must strongly indicate that it is a worthwhile venture. This initial research will provide direction and planning to ultimately achieve a more successful outcome. Evaluation research should also be undertaken after all is said and done to measure the success or otherwise.
The research should very specifically indicate what is the RIGHT message the company should be sending and if the nature of the event delivers that message and caters to the objective.
It is widely publicised on various organisational websites that companies are not interested in basic signage at events, preferring incorporated messaged and interactive experiences that align with their core values. A perfect example of successful sponsorship of an event lies in Apple/Mac, which was the major sponsor of last year’s Homebake Music Festival. Their relevance was inherent; their target audience being a youthful demographic as well as having a strong musical marketing influence. A giant white tent was erected which made everything inside look like it was the simplistic set of an Apple ad campaign. It was air-conditioned and away from the elements- perfect for a long day for the crowd in either hot sun or pouring rain. It was filled with free and quickly attainable music of the featured artists to download straight from the available technology onto your own phone. There were countless vibrant staff members ready to assist and make it all as simple as possible. The slogan “Apple, making life easier” was blown up on one wall and was felt by all within.
The tent served as an event in itself- a climate-controlled oasis with a gadget for every problem or dream you’d ever had. The entire thing worked cohesively and relevantly- target audience, event suitability, engagement with product, take-home branding, and available staff to detour any anti-apple attitude with their fresh faces and progressive personas. Event sponsorship brilliance.
This chapter highlighted the research that would have had to gone into achieving that message; that life with apple is easier, more fun, and just generally better. Life, improved. For such a seamless event, un-thought-of research, time and planning would have had to gone into achieving its success.
From this chapter I learnt that if you’re getting free cocktails, you’ve probably paid for them will a whole lot of brain power and elbow grease.
I think this chapter’s chief purpose may well have been to alert the countless “Samantha Jones” wanna-bees from thinking that the event management area of PR is all there is to it. Even if it was, which we are learning one gruelling chapter at a time that it isn’t, this reading was about pointing out the truly un-fun nature of planning and strategising. What’s obvious is that you have to do a shitload of work before you get to sip on supposedly free cosmos and get your friends on the list to the elitist of parties.
The basic message was that very careful and strategic research must occur before blowing the budget and reputability of the company you’re representing. It should be recognised that event management is just one of the tactics on offer to a Public Relations Practitioner, and so considering its rivals are media releases and leaflets, comprehensive research must strongly indicate that it is a worthwhile venture. This initial research will provide direction and planning to ultimately achieve a more successful outcome. Evaluation research should also be undertaken after all is said and done to measure the success or otherwise.
The research should very specifically indicate what is the RIGHT message the company should be sending and if the nature of the event delivers that message and caters to the objective.
It is widely publicised on various organisational websites that companies are not interested in basic signage at events, preferring incorporated messaged and interactive experiences that align with their core values. A perfect example of successful sponsorship of an event lies in Apple/Mac, which was the major sponsor of last year’s Homebake Music Festival. Their relevance was inherent; their target audience being a youthful demographic as well as having a strong musical marketing influence. A giant white tent was erected which made everything inside look like it was the simplistic set of an Apple ad campaign. It was air-conditioned and away from the elements- perfect for a long day for the crowd in either hot sun or pouring rain. It was filled with free and quickly attainable music of the featured artists to download straight from the available technology onto your own phone. There were countless vibrant staff members ready to assist and make it all as simple as possible. The slogan “Apple, making life easier” was blown up on one wall and was felt by all within.
The tent served as an event in itself- a climate-controlled oasis with a gadget for every problem or dream you’d ever had. The entire thing worked cohesively and relevantly- target audience, event suitability, engagement with product, take-home branding, and available staff to detour any anti-apple attitude with their fresh faces and progressive personas. Event sponsorship brilliance.
This chapter highlighted the research that would have had to gone into achieving that message; that life with apple is easier, more fun, and just generally better. Life, improved. For such a seamless event, un-thought-of research, time and planning would have had to gone into achieving its success.
From this chapter I learnt that if you’re getting free cocktails, you’ve probably paid for them will a whole lot of brain power and elbow grease.
Week 7: Strategic Planning, Workable Tactics and Evaluation
This week’s reading shone the PR spotlight of the seemingly synonymous ‘tactic’ and ‘strategy’, their differences and interdependence. What is highlighted is that while they are inextricably linked, tactics can only be formulated after a fully-fledged strategy has been established.
The complex task then remains for the Public Relations Practitioner to carefully consider and the skilfully implement their chosen poison. Here lies what I deduced was the most noteworthy concept from the reading- that in an era of change, unsteadiness and relentless dynamic shifts, it is the Public Relations Practitioner’s role to be on their toes at all times, developing a unique series of strategies and tactics to follow. But alas, it is important to remember that the most seemingly suitable set of tactics is never totally foolproof. Direct mail? Media Releases? Competitions? Celebrity endorsements? The forever scolded brochure? Who the heck is to know?
All that can done is to focus on an all-encompassing process of analysis, evaluation and implementation to (hopefully) most appropriately tailor to the objectives of the organisation and its decided PR strategy.
Furthermore, the most potentially effective tactics simply may not be an option for your organisation in its current position. Resultantly when ploughing through potential avenues for execution the Public Relations Practitioner must consider budget restraints and the subsequent restrictions on publication choice, colours, photos, whether they can afford ink at all and etc. Bottom line, the public relations practitioner must be aware of their current position in every aspect, develop a strategy to move towards the desired position and develop tactics to get there.
The complex task then remains for the Public Relations Practitioner to carefully consider and the skilfully implement their chosen poison. Here lies what I deduced was the most noteworthy concept from the reading- that in an era of change, unsteadiness and relentless dynamic shifts, it is the Public Relations Practitioner’s role to be on their toes at all times, developing a unique series of strategies and tactics to follow. But alas, it is important to remember that the most seemingly suitable set of tactics is never totally foolproof. Direct mail? Media Releases? Competitions? Celebrity endorsements? The forever scolded brochure? Who the heck is to know?
All that can done is to focus on an all-encompassing process of analysis, evaluation and implementation to (hopefully) most appropriately tailor to the objectives of the organisation and its decided PR strategy.
Furthermore, the most potentially effective tactics simply may not be an option for your organisation in its current position. Resultantly when ploughing through potential avenues for execution the Public Relations Practitioner must consider budget restraints and the subsequent restrictions on publication choice, colours, photos, whether they can afford ink at all and etc. Bottom line, the public relations practitioner must be aware of their current position in every aspect, develop a strategy to move towards the desired position and develop tactics to get there.
Week 6: Communities and Public Relations
This week’s reading on communities and public relations made me think about public relations theory and practice by bringing to the fore the vital importance of operating ethically and socially responsibly within social, political, and cultural contexts.
The importance of operating in this manner can be addressed by incorporating the community and its needs and wants into the public relations plan or strategy. And while this can occur as a result of the ever present sense of community responsibility, a close relationship can benefit both parties. Public relations theorists argue that “the mutually beneficial relationships common to definitions of public relations are in fact the ‘social capital’ of an organisation (Ihlen 2005 pg. 492).
One of the most important ideas I took from the reading was the positive rapport that can be built with community publics on the basis of a free-flow of information and the recognisable consideration of community ideals. The information and theories presented where similar to those in some articles I read recently for an assignment in Managing the Organisation. These articles suggests that the alignment of value between an employer and employees was the key to developing a strong and adaptable organisational culture. This can be said for the Public Relations Practitioner and the community as the information suggested that people are more likely to adopt specific values or practices if it is made clear to them the potential positive effects for themselves and the organisation at large. Comparatively, the “role of public relations and in particular of community consultation, should be seen as a process of communication, engagement and negotiation (Carson and Gebler 2001:7). As a result of this open dialogue and involvement of publics in decision-making, benefits of increased public trust, improved relationships, higher quality decisions, greater legitimacy and a sense of ownership of the outcome can be felt.
Essentially the reading illuminated the consideration of the community as yet another integral aspect of a successful public relations plan or strategy. The importance of social inclusion and common values a most beneficial in embracing diversity and fostering the building of relationships. These evolving relationships should be viewed by public relations practitioners as being in a constant state of flux, maintained by on-going communication and dialogue. Overall, an organisation can better respond to its publics by proving in their practice that they value and consider the community’s perceptions, values and concerns (Johnston and Zawawi, 2004).
The importance of operating in this manner can be addressed by incorporating the community and its needs and wants into the public relations plan or strategy. And while this can occur as a result of the ever present sense of community responsibility, a close relationship can benefit both parties. Public relations theorists argue that “the mutually beneficial relationships common to definitions of public relations are in fact the ‘social capital’ of an organisation (Ihlen 2005 pg. 492).
One of the most important ideas I took from the reading was the positive rapport that can be built with community publics on the basis of a free-flow of information and the recognisable consideration of community ideals. The information and theories presented where similar to those in some articles I read recently for an assignment in Managing the Organisation. These articles suggests that the alignment of value between an employer and employees was the key to developing a strong and adaptable organisational culture. This can be said for the Public Relations Practitioner and the community as the information suggested that people are more likely to adopt specific values or practices if it is made clear to them the potential positive effects for themselves and the organisation at large. Comparatively, the “role of public relations and in particular of community consultation, should be seen as a process of communication, engagement and negotiation (Carson and Gebler 2001:7). As a result of this open dialogue and involvement of publics in decision-making, benefits of increased public trust, improved relationships, higher quality decisions, greater legitimacy and a sense of ownership of the outcome can be felt.
Essentially the reading illuminated the consideration of the community as yet another integral aspect of a successful public relations plan or strategy. The importance of social inclusion and common values a most beneficial in embracing diversity and fostering the building of relationships. These evolving relationships should be viewed by public relations practitioners as being in a constant state of flux, maintained by on-going communication and dialogue. Overall, an organisation can better respond to its publics by proving in their practice that they value and consider the community’s perceptions, values and concerns (Johnston and Zawawi, 2004).
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Ethics
This week’s reading was concerned with the paradigm public relations seems to have the worst reputation in; ethics.
It effectively highlighted the role of the practitioner as an honest one, with their objective to be to inform the public to the best of their knowledge and not to distort or manipulate the truth for the organisations sake. To me, this seems a little simple and unrealistic. If a PR practitioner comes across information about their client that they believe will be detrimental to its relationship with various publics, obviously they are going to avoid its broadcast and evade vilification of the company that they have worked so hard to develop and maintain.
Nonetheless, the chapter forced consideration of the importance of working for a company you believe in. To inform the public to ‘the best of your knowledge’ will never be slanderings if to the best of your knowledge your company is doing all it can with a sticky situation.
I wrote a letter to the editor this week which was published on Saturday about The Footy Show’s lack of tact when it comes to dealing with crisis in the league on account of their lack of training in PR. The letter was a reaction to a player referring to Greg Inglis’s domestic violence charges as ‘drama’ and saying that it was good to see him ‘back with the boys having a laugh’. In this scenario, the panel were obviously trying to avoid an uncomfortable atmosphere or animosity toward the player, so did so through emitting any direct reference to his charges and instead attempting to portray him in a positive light. This tactic was ridiculously poor for the Footy Show, having the information already released and broadcasted repeatedly nationally all week. While they should have been acting as damage control and formed a tactical approach to addressing the issue, they may in fact not agree with trying to paint him in a positive light, which is where contingencies arise.
The scope of the difficulty can be seen when applying Immanuel Kant’s 3 step process for solving ethical dilemmas to this Footy Show scenario. -1- When in doubt as to whether an act is moral or not, apply the categorical imperative, which is to ask the question: ‘What if everyone did this deed?’-2- Always treat all people as ends in themselves and never exploit other humans.-3- Always respect the dignity of human beings
When your role as a PR practitioner is to protect both players and the National Rugby League itself, it would prove extremely difficult to present a unified and conclusive Public Relations plan. You cannot ethically advocate the players actions, particularly after the previous media coverage, though you do have to support the NRL’s decision to allow him back. If you don’t agree with the NRL’s decision, are you then in the position to leave your job on account of maintaining your ethical stance? Or are you to weigh up the scenario situationally, taking into account the difficulty of decision making in other areas of the organisation?
A lot to think about when considering even applying for a job as a Public Relations Practitioner.
It effectively highlighted the role of the practitioner as an honest one, with their objective to be to inform the public to the best of their knowledge and not to distort or manipulate the truth for the organisations sake. To me, this seems a little simple and unrealistic. If a PR practitioner comes across information about their client that they believe will be detrimental to its relationship with various publics, obviously they are going to avoid its broadcast and evade vilification of the company that they have worked so hard to develop and maintain.
Nonetheless, the chapter forced consideration of the importance of working for a company you believe in. To inform the public to ‘the best of your knowledge’ will never be slanderings if to the best of your knowledge your company is doing all it can with a sticky situation.
I wrote a letter to the editor this week which was published on Saturday about The Footy Show’s lack of tact when it comes to dealing with crisis in the league on account of their lack of training in PR. The letter was a reaction to a player referring to Greg Inglis’s domestic violence charges as ‘drama’ and saying that it was good to see him ‘back with the boys having a laugh’. In this scenario, the panel were obviously trying to avoid an uncomfortable atmosphere or animosity toward the player, so did so through emitting any direct reference to his charges and instead attempting to portray him in a positive light. This tactic was ridiculously poor for the Footy Show, having the information already released and broadcasted repeatedly nationally all week. While they should have been acting as damage control and formed a tactical approach to addressing the issue, they may in fact not agree with trying to paint him in a positive light, which is where contingencies arise.
The scope of the difficulty can be seen when applying Immanuel Kant’s 3 step process for solving ethical dilemmas to this Footy Show scenario. -1- When in doubt as to whether an act is moral or not, apply the categorical imperative, which is to ask the question: ‘What if everyone did this deed?’-2- Always treat all people as ends in themselves and never exploit other humans.-3- Always respect the dignity of human beings
When your role as a PR practitioner is to protect both players and the National Rugby League itself, it would prove extremely difficult to present a unified and conclusive Public Relations plan. You cannot ethically advocate the players actions, particularly after the previous media coverage, though you do have to support the NRL’s decision to allow him back. If you don’t agree with the NRL’s decision, are you then in the position to leave your job on account of maintaining your ethical stance? Or are you to weigh up the scenario situationally, taking into account the difficulty of decision making in other areas of the organisation?
A lot to think about when considering even applying for a job as a Public Relations Practitioner.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Week Four Blog
The central focus of this week’s reading was the interdependent relationship between the media and public relations, as well as how it continually evolves resultant to ever-changing media structures and paradigms. The reading highlighted the need for the Public Relations practitioner to approach their profession with the perception of their position as a continually evolving and dynamic one on account of the shifts in media practices. Vast technological development and the subsequent unbridled ability of the individual to broadcast has suspended the barrier between the media and the consumer causing an unprecedented shift in power from key media conglomerates to the individual and smaller niche markets. With the rise of social-networking sites, personal media and such as youtube.com, the role of the Public Relations practitioner has become difficult to cage and constantly swings in and out of multi-media grey areas. The first debating topic; Media relations is the most important aspect of most public relations work; was clearly of relevance to these readings. Despite a Public Relations Practitioner’s role spanning far beyond simply engaging with and manipulating the media, it could be argued that the most important public relations takes place for the most important companies- which is generally determined by size and impact. A large company/person/organization can not survive and thrive from simply networking and positive relations with publics other than the media; the media, regardless of shifts in media paradigms in an evolving modern, remains and will continue to remain the broadest and most efficient method of forming, maintaining or manipulating public opinion. Therefore the PR practitioner should be very careful of their company’s media relations and reputation.
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